The mobile gaming space has changed a lot since the app store first came to fruition in 2008, different ways of playing and paying for games have arrived to some criticism and admiration. I have downloaded numerous games onto my iPhone and iPad but none that have actually worked their way into my day to day routine like The Simpsons: Tapped Out has.

Tapped Out is a free to play game in which you are free to construct your own version of Springfield, the fictional town from the show. The game provides you with some narrative in order for you to digest why you are able to construct your own version of the iconic town. Essentially Homer caused a nuclear meltdown at the power plant, destroying the whole town, meaning that you have to rebuild it in a way of your choosing. The game starts off with a great cut scene that fans of the show will appreciate; the game is also fully voice acted, with characters from the show saying newly recorded and old dialogue from the show.

As mentioned, this city builder is free to download, but of course there is a catch that inevitably follows, in the game you collect currency from the buildings that you construct, this allows you to purchase new buildings thus gaining more characters. However there is another type of currency in the game, doughnuts, those little rings that Homer loves so much. These are the premium currency in the game, meaning that there are many buildings that you are not able to purchase unless you have a stupidly high number of them. This of course means that you have to spend real world money in order to purchase this fake currency, if you choose not to pay for doughnuts you can earn them in game by levelling up for example, but you get so little that it is not possible to get all the premium items unless you are willing to fork over some real world currency.

I’m not one that usually loves free to play games or even plays them that often, but I can say that Tapped Out is a game that you can genuinely play and get a great experience from even if you don’t want to pay any real money for the game. I can safely say that after having the game since launch back in 2012 and playing it daily I have had a great time without ever paying a dime. The game does try to promote the premium items and currency but it’s easy to ignore that when the game is being updated so regularly. For me this is a game that I keep coming back to because there’s always more to see and do in Springfield with the massive amount of support that EA gives the game. There have been a monumental amount of updates ranging from the regular and predictable such as Christmas and Halloween to the more fan pleasing Whacking day updates. All of which have new characters, building and decals to unlock, there are always more premium items that are being advertised to you to, all of which are easy to avoid but I did find it annoying at times when there were updates just to put a character in my town, Gil, the salesman from the show, just to promote the premium in game currency, the fact that there were times that the promotion of the premium currency kept getting in the way of my experience with the game, hindering my enjoyment. Of course I understand that EA want to make as much money from the game as possible but I just wish there were times were the game did not try to wave banners in my face telling me about a sale in the amount of doughnuts I could buy.

Gil stop getting in my way!

Just like most licenced games, to get the most amount of enjoyment from them you have to be a fan of the licence that the game is based around. In the case of this game if you are not a big fan of The Simpsons then there are many elements to the game that you will either not understand or not find funny. For those who are fans of the show you will find fan service here in bucket loads. A prime example of this is the fact that each character has different tasks that they can perform in order to earn you money, these tasks will be unique to each character in many circumstances, meaning that being able to make Hans Moleman get hit in the groin by a football will have many fans of the show laughing. All the actions that a character can perform made me reminisce about episodes that I loved or hadn’t seen for a while, the characters and the game itself rekindled my love for the show in many ways.

Apart from the Simpsons licence Tapped Out is something akin to any town builder you have already played, you collect currency so that you are able to unlock new building and get more currency while you tell characters to do jobs in which you earn even more money to repeat the process over and over, while it may sound a little dull on paper, the formula gets addictive relatively quickly. One of the other things that will keep you invested is that the game has various quests that have story lines attached to them, whether it is finding out where Bart or Marge is for example, this game has enough in the way of story to keep you coming back for more laughs.

Graphically this game couldn’t look any better, on the screen of your tablet or smartphone the game will pop, looking crisp and clear. The game is the best representation of the show that can be found in any Simpson’s game to date, it is literally like the cartoon in every shape and form. The characters move exactly as you would expect them to and animations look detailed and pay dividends to fans of the show once more.

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the game is the best representation of the cartoon that you can find on any platform

The Simpsons: Tapped Out is a game that I would recommend to anyone who has any affiliation with the show or anyone that loves a good time waster. Like I said this game has worked its way into my day to day routine, meaning that I am always gathering money and competing with my friends to see who can level up the fastest or who can get the next building first. The game pays tribute to countless episodes of the show and it does this all while looking gorgeous, the game is the best representation of the cartoon that you can find on any platform. Added to this is the added bonus of the fact that you can get this game right now for free, meaning you have no excuse not to try it. Although the game does at times heavily promote the premium currency, the constant updates with new characters themes and buildings more than makes up for it, this is a game that I have sunk countless hours into and I have no intention of stopping, especially seeing as the new Easter update just released, now if you’ll excuse me I have some building to do!